The last time the term "Vehicon" was used as part of a major "Transformers" television show it was in "Beast Machines", where Vehicons represented a seemingly unending army of mindless Transformers controlled by "Generals" who were sentient with Sparks. Ten years or so after that series, the term once again applies to hordes of evil doing warriors, except this time out the Vehicon hordes are themselves sentient but share a common design, much like the Clone Troopers in "Star Wars".

As the "Transformers Prime" line kicks off in 2012, the "Cyberverse" first introduced in the "Dark of the Moon" toy line has now expanded into this series, allowing fans the chance to enjoy the "micro play" pattern with "Transformers Prime" characters. One of the first releases in the Legion Class of this line is the ground based Vehicon warrior.

Robot Mode:
Fans were introduced to the Vehicon warrior early on in the "Transformers Prime" television show. Their cold, emotionless faces and large numbers made them a scary force to contend with. The Vehicon ground warrior design seems to have started with the Decepticon symbol as its base and then worked its way up from there. The face is angled with a visor and mouth plate design. Small design elements start at the chin area and angle out to the sides of the head, looking quite a bit like the angles on the sides of the Decepticon symbol. The torso section also has several angled areas that start wide and the chest and narrow at the waist. Like the head, these sections also have panels that angle out to the sides, once again reminding me of the Decepticon symbol. The whole "pointy bits" aesthetic carried over from the movies into "Transformers Prime" is apparent here on the legs where the Vehicon's knee armor look like spikes. Where this figure differs quite a bit from its on screen counterpart is the top section. On the CGI model, this area is clear of any kibble from the vehicle mode and just has the head on it. Here the panel that forms the front of the vehicle winds up on his back, protruding upwards and giving the Vehicon a bit of a "hunchback" appearance. It may sound odd, but I kind of like the "hunchback" thing since it makes the Vehicon look a bit creepier than he already does. Add to that all the aforementioned detail and he looks great.

The Vehicon is cast in black and grey plastic. Black is the most heavily used color, with the grey plastic making up the legs and the wheels from his vehicle mode. Silver and red paint provide some detailing on the chest and waist area while a purple Decepticon symbol decorates the center of his chest. The red is used on the visor eyes, which contrasts nicely with the silver used on the head. I have to say however that I found myself disappointed that there was not more purple paint on the figure. Though the CGI model is often heavily shaded so it looks mostly black, there are spots on the chest and legs that are clearly purple. I would have preferred a metallic purple used on the figure instead of the silver to match it more closely with the television show model.

There are four points of articulation on this figure, two at the shoulders and hips. Each one is a ball joint, allowing for a good range of motion. The weapon included with the Vehicon is a dual purpose one. The weapon is a rifle with a blade on one side. There are pegs on the bottom and back end of the weapon, allowing the Vehicon to hold it either as a sword like weapon or a blaster. On the top of the weapon is a hole that will allow you to attach another weapon on top. The weapon is cast in soft, translucent, rubbery plastic (don't want kids hurting themselves now). The weapon is purple, representing the "Dark Energon" used by Megatron in the series. Like the "Dark of the Moon" Cyberverse figures, the intention here is to have the weapons included with the Legion Class figures be iinterchangeable from figure to figure. As part of that idea, the Vehicon has holes on the sides of the forearms and fists that can accomodate these weapons. If you want, you can also store a weapon on his back where he has a hole on the section that becomes the hood of the vehicle. This robot mode is a lot of fun and I like the design of the weapon quite a bit.

Transformation to Vehicle Mode:

Detach the weapon if attached.

Swing the chest forward.

Tuck the head back into the chest.

Swing the chest piece underneath the front end of the vehicle form.

Connect the two legs together to form the rear of the vehicle.

Push the arms in to complete the transformation.

The weapon can be attached to the hood or sides of the vehicle.

Vehicle Mode:
Both on the television show and this figure, the Vehicon vehicle mode is a sleek combination of aesthetics from both sports and muscle cars. It looks like at its base the vehicle is a low riding, thin car but then wide, angled panels and a spoiler were thrown on top for good measure. The result is a rather unique looking vehicle that still echoes some of the design cues of the robot mode. In particular the front end of the vehicle echoes the spikey "Decepticon symbol inspired" look of the robot's torso with two claw like panels that wrap around the front. The spoiler has angled sides which angle upward in the back, making him look almost like some type of Batmobile inspired car. There are some nice, smaller details including lines sculpted onto the grille and a cross hatch pattern on the aforementioned "claw" shaped sections in the front.

Black plastic makes up most of the vehicle form with grey plastic used for the wheels. Silver is used to paint the windows and strips on the front end that represent the headlights. A bit of purple color is used on the sides as well, echoing the CGI model's look of "glowing energy" on the sides of the car. In this mode the Vehicon really does look a lot like his on screen counterpart.

There are three points on the vehicle with holes on them: the hood and the doors on the sides. Each of these holes can accomodate a Legion Class Cyberverse weapon, giving this guy a bit of bite in vehicle form!

Final Thoughts:
The Vehicon Legion Class figure is not perfect by any means. Between the "hunchback" thing (which I don't mind, but some people will) and his lack of purple in robot mode (which I do mind) I think the figure could have been a bit better, but overall it is a cool toy and a recommended buy!